Journal profile · LAW
Journal of Legislative Studies
ISSN 1357-2334 · eISSN 1743-9337 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Legislative Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.9 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 176 days to acceptance (69 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 31% (journal website); 32 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Legislative Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Electoral Systems and Political Participation, European Union Policy and Governance and Political Systems and Governance, together about 39.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Now Included in Thompson Reuters' Emerging Sources Citation Index Legislatures are ubiquitous. Almost nine out of every ten countries have one. At a time of rapid institutional and political change, they have become even more significant. There are radical changes taking place in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Member States of the European Union, and in other continents as parliaments are transformed and take on a new significance. The Journal of Legislative Studies is a major international refereed journal, covering all aspects of legislative research and development, and aimed at scholars and researchers of legislative studies. It is global in scope, interdisciplinary in range, and eclectic in approach. Articles encompass legislative theory and country-specific empirical research. Scholarly articles are complemented by articles penned by leading public figures. Peer Review All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): LAW
Editor-in-chief Lord Philip Norton of LouthPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences18.7%
- European Union Policy and GovernanceSocial Sciences10.4%
- Political Systems and GovernanceSocial Sciences10.4%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting8.3%
- Gender Politics and RepresentationSocial Sciences5.2%
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences5%
- European and International Law StudiesSocial Sciences4.6%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: EBSCOhost (multiple databases), International Political Science Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts (CSA), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (CSA)
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.91Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.14LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.14Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 63OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 475OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.86OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.53%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 100,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,177 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 32 | 20 | 29 |
| 2024 | 31 | 13 | 53 |
| 2023 | 34 | 17 | 130 |
| 2022 | 36 | 13 | 225 |
| 2021 | 39 | 13 | 351 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
176 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 133 days – 279 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (69 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 194 days
- Sample
- 69 articles with submission and acceptance dates (71 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 31%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 72 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 84 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
The Journal of Legislative Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discover…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1357-2334
- Electronic ISSN
- 1743-9337
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 32, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Legislative Studies
What CAS zone is Journal of Legislative Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Legislative Studies is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Law. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Legislative Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 63.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Legislative Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 69 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 176 days (interquartile range 133–279 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 31%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Journal of Legislative Studies in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Sociology.
Which databases index Journal of Legislative Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Legislative Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Legislative Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Legislative Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .